Since 1867 & 2006
The newly painted GE diesel on hand to help out. The color choice is not pure Grande, but the logo sure is and it's a welcome sight in this Rio Grande town.
Finally, what didn't make the news is that the San Luis & Rio Grande, better known as the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad, has opened for the first time with live steam over the standard gauge line. It marks the first time in over 50 years that standard gauge steam has run in the San Luis Valley. It will run between La Veta and Alamosa pulling the San Luis Express.
The first construction phase of FasTracks, RTD's Light Rail & Commuter Rail expansion plan is scheduled to start mid-May. A ceremony is scheduled to start May 16th at 1 p.m. at Quail and 13th Street where they expect to begin removing the existing rails from the right-of-way....the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad won't see the $1.35 million it wanted to cover track rehabilitation costs, but it will get $80,000 to rehabilitate its car shop and engine house.This is unfortunate, but not without its own causes. Wade Hall on the Narrow Gauge Railroad Discussion Forum offered this as part of his insightful commentary on the situation:
Out of the 100 Colorado legislators, about 13 hail from rural Colorado. Time was when that numerical disadvantage was somewhat overcome by many of the legislative leadership positions being held by rural legislators. Those days are gone. Add to that Colorado's budget inflexibility imposed partly by TABOR, and it's not hard to see why securing Colorado funding for the C&TS is such a challenge. The Front Range effectively controls the budget--and will continue to do [so].While this certainly is a possibility, Nathan D. Holmes of DRGW.net states,
For those of you in Colorado, remember that if you want to see money for the C&TS, you need to make it known to your legislators. Like any good politician, they'll pay attention if enough people make enough noise about an issue. If you're not happy with the way the budget came out this year, writing them isn't a bad idea...It certainly couldn't hurt the chances of the C&TS to do so. It could be that as long as the Colorado legislature pretends to fund what it owns, the C&TS will likely pretend to work. While New Mexico continues to fund the railroad it jointly owns, Colorado, for all the opulence of its natural beauty, fails to own up to its fiscal end of the bargain despite its joint ownership.
I learned to fire on SP 2-6-0 #1744. At that time, this engine just wasn't a good steamer at all, it's 63" drivers were designed to sprint down the San Juaquin Valley at 50mph, not climb a 2.5% mountain grade at 15mph like we were running her. Even retired SP hogheads [engineers] couldn't get her to steam; damper wide open, damper closed, fire door propped open, blower set for takeoff, she just didn't cooperate, and that made excellent firemen out of us, because there was no mercy, you had to plan ahead for everything. Later, we found that by cutting an auxilliary breathing hole in the oilpan near the burner, it allowed the fire to rise up and fill the corners of the firebox, she steamed like a firecracker after that!In the 90s, rebuilding began for excursion service in Ft. Worth, Texas but work was not completed until she was sold to the New Orleans and Gulf Coast, a subsidiary of the Rio Grande Pacific Corporation, in 1999. Work was begun in Ft. Worth and a few break-in trips were made before she was shipped to the Big Easy. The next year, she began her work for the NO&GC. All too quickly, the venture folded in a couple of months and the 1744 has been for sale, serviceable, but will need some work before a full season can be expected out of her.
You are invited to attend a Memorial Service for Bob Richardson on Saturday, May 5 2:00PM at the Colorado Railroad Museum to celebrate his life and his important contributions to railroad history and preservation. The locomotive #346 restoration fund has been created to honor Bob. All donations to the fund will be used to complete the last phase in the restoration of the 346. Donations should be made to "Colorado Railroad Museum" and designated to the 346 restoration fund.For more information, visit the Colorado Railroad Museum web site. For directions, visit the site for a general map or get specific directions using Google Maps.
Fondly called “Uncle Robert” by all those who know and admired him, Robert William Richardson, age 96, passed away peacefully in State College, Pennsylvania, on February 23, 2007. Although plagued by short bouts of illness in recent years, Bob had remained basically healthy and in full possession of his remarkable memory and sharp wit right up until the end. Perhaps best known as the co-founder and longtime Executive Director of the Colorado Railroad Museum and a distinguished railroad author and photographer, Bob’s career could easily have gone in a different direction. Born in Rochester, Pennsylvania, on May 21, 1910, he moved with his parents to Akron, Ohio, in 1915 and later graduated from high school there. Diverted from a college education, Bob went to work for a local hardware concern until the depression cost him his job. Along the way he had learned the printing business and proceeded to start his own small print shop in Akron. The depression years were especially hard for printers, and Bob’s shop closed in 1937. Stamp collecting was one of his major hobbies, and George Linn hired him as the second editor of “Linn’s Weekly Stamp News,” the principal publication dealing with that interest. Fortunately, for rail hobbyists and historians, Bob’s other hobby was railroading.